TAMPA, Fla. — The front office architect of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions will be remaining with the Lightning beyond this season.
Julien BriseBois has agreed to an extension to remain as the team’s general manager. His current contract was to expire at the end of 2021-22.
Terms of the deal were not known. No announcement was expected from the Lightning on Tuesday.
After building a team that won two straight Cups — just the second club to accomplish that feat in the salary-cap area — there was little question that BriseBois, who came to Tampa Bay in 2010 to serve as assistant general manager under Steve Yzerman before becoming GM in 2018, or the Lightning would want to part ways.
But with several other general managers around the league in the final year of their contracts, many in various hockey circles wondered if BriseBois could be lured elsewhere, especially with Montreal GM Marc Bergevin in the final year of his contract. BriseBois grew up outside Montreal and cut his front-office teeth with the Canadiens.
Ultimately, the Lightning left no doubt entering the season, securing BriseBois well before their Stanley Cup defense begins on Oct. 12.
Even though he initially worked in Yzerman’s shadow with the Lightning, BriseBois carved his own identity in building teams that won consecutive Cups during the pandemic.
BriseBois, 44, has expertly navigated through yearly salary-cap challenges to keep the Lightning’s core group intact, continuing Yzerman’s trend of signing players to club-friendly long-term deals while making savvy trades to make the team better while remaining under the cap. When the Lightning needed extra grit down the stretch in 2019-20, BriseBois sacrificed a pair of first-round picks to net forwards Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, two players who played huge roles on both title teams.
